Brake-shoe



J. S. THOMPSON. BRAKE SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.11. 1919.

Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

p it is opened to form the arch shaped lug.

, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES S THOMPSON, 0F PELHAM, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN BRAKE SHOE & FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION DELAWARE.

BRAKE-SHOE.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented Apr. 5, 1921.

Application filed December 17, 1919. Serial No. 345,531.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMns S. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pelham, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake- Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a companion to the invention set forth in my application Serial No. 3et5,530, filed concurrently herewith and relates primarily to locomotive brake shoes of that type which are commercially known as center-fastening shoes and are provided with a single fastening lug located at or about the center of the shoe to engage an opening provided for it in the brake head.

The primary'objects of the invention are to reduce to a minimum the wear of the fastening lug on the brake head, andto construct the lug and associate it with the reinforcing back of the shoe in a novel manner to avoid damage to the shoe by reason of the strains and blows to which the lug is subjected in actual service.

More particularly the present invention has forits objects to provide a strong and substantial lug for a center-fastening shoe which presents smooth, non-wearing surfaces at its open ends to the brake head, and which is so engaged and supported by the reinforcing back of the shoe that the forces or blows which are applied to the lug in the application of the brakes in service w1ll be distributed. through the reinforclng back over a considerable area of the shoe to thereby avoid the danger of fracturing the body of the shoe beneath the lug which might happen if the forces or blows were transmitted by the lug entirely and directly to that portion of the body of the shoe beneath the The objects of my invention will more fully appear in the detail description thereof as embodied in a selected form in the aocom panying drawings, referring to whicl 1- Figure l is a perspective view showing my invention embodied with one form of reinforcing back. a

Fig. 2 isa plan view of the blank before it is bent in forming the support.

Fig. 3 isa perspective view of the support. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank before cluding the opening 8 and the recess 9 at or about midway between the ends of the back to receive the lug. The lug 10 may be formed out. of a strip of strap metal 10' which is bent to form an arch with laterally projecting feet 11. 11. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, these feet project in the same direction to engage the opening 8 and the recess 9, this being the desired construction for a type of back having an opening and a recess of this general character. Ifthe recess 9 were an opening similar to the opening 8 and did not extend through the edge of the back, the foot 11 might extend outward in a direction opposite to foot 11,

The upper part of the lugispreferably wider than the lower part and a shoulder 12 is formed on each sideof each legof the lug at the juncture ofthe upper wide and the lower narrow parts of the lug. I prefer that each shoulder should be perpendicular to the edge of the lug. The narrow part of the lug may be formed by cutting away the ridges from each shoulder to the end of the eet. The support 13 may also be conveniently formed out of a strip of strap metal 13 which is bentto form the two Lip-standing ends 14 and the horizontal connecting por tion 15. The horizontal portion 15 is narrower than the ends 14.: The blank is cut at-16 so that in bending up the ends legs 17 willbe formed which project downward in the planes of the sides 14: and below the horizontal connecting portion 15.

In the manufacture of a shoe embodying the invention, it will befound convenient to arrange support 13 upon the back 7 and .then engage the lug 10 with the support and 1e back. before the feet 11, 11' have been ormed, by slipping the lug down upon the support and then bending the ends laterally o engage the underside of the back. The orizontal part 15 of the support will rest flat upon the back within the lug, bridging the legs inthe preferred construction to lie flush or substantially flush with the outer sides of the legs and with the edges of the lug at'the open ends thereof. The legs 17 project down below he horizontal connecting portion of the support, so that when the s pport rests upon the back in assembled the back and the body 18 of the shoe.

position, the legs 17 will engage the opening 8 and the recess 9 to prevent lateral displacement of the support and the lug relativ g 1tlo i e feet 11, 11 will prevent the lug from pulling away from the back and the body of the shoe. '1

My improved lug is designed and proportioned to fill the opening provided for it in the brake head so that there will be a fair but not a tight fit between the lug and the head. For practical reasons, which are well understood, it is not possible to fit the brake shoe ,to the head so closely and so snugly that movement of the shoe relative to the head will be prevented. In all shoes which are secured to brake heads through the medium of a single lug, there is always possible a lengthwise movement of the lug in the head, to a more or'less extent, when'the brakes are applied as well as when the shoes are hanging free. If the lug is made of due tile metal and no provision is 'made against such movement, the edges of the lug at the open ends thereof will engage the walls of the opening in the head with a cutting wear, due to the movement ofthe shoe relative to the head, whlch will in course of time seriously damage the brake head. My invention avoids the possibility of this damage to the brake head by protecting the lug so that its edges will not engage the brake head with a cutting wear. The ends 14, 1 1 of the support 13 provide flat bearing surfaces of sufficient area to engage the opposite walls of the opening in the head without wearing the head destructively. The ends 14, 1 1 are preferably seated in the lug to lie flush or substantiallyflush with the edges'of the upper wide part ofthe lug so that they will provide broad, flat, non-wearing bearing surfaces to engage the head and prevent the edges of the lug abovesaid bearing surfaces from cutting into the walls of the opening in the head.

In the ordinary application of the brakes, the lug is subjected to pounding or hammering blows. of considerable force on its top. If the force of these blows is transmitted directly to a restricted section of the body of the shoe, at or about its center, it may fracture the'body and seriously damage the shoe.

ence in the brakeshoe art, that this distribu- V tion'of the force of the blow imparted to the lug when the brakes are applied will entirely avoid the likelihood of fracture to the shoe from such blow. The form of support herein disclosed makes a particularly strong and sub stantial lug which'can be made at low cost by very simple operations. The support constitutes a substantialand rigid support for the lug to withstand the blows received on the top of the lug in service and in handling and to distribute the force of the blows through the back over considerable area of the back of the shoe and thereby avoid, or at least greatly reduce, the danger of such blows fracturing the body of the shoe. The lug and the support form a very compact, strong and substantial structure when assembled with the back which will effectively perform its functions as a fastening lug. The engagement of the feet 11, 11" with the back, in cooperation with the legs 17, will prevent movement of the lug relative to the back so that when the body metal .is cast upon the back and 'lug,the lug will be held permanently in proper'position by reason of its engagement with the back and the body metal, but if desired, or if conditions may make itnecessary, thesupport can be spotwelded to the back, and to the lug also.

The reinforcing back and the lug are made of ductile metal and in. any form desired'for use on any kind of shoes to which 'the invention may be adapted. The construction is such that it is not necessary to run the body metal up on the outside of the lug or on the inside thereof'to reinforce and strengthen the lug and to fill the opening in the brake head; The lug itself is of sufli cient size to fill or substantially fill the opening in the brake head and it is so constructed and protected that cutting wear by the lug on the brake head is entirely avoided.

In the drawings 1 have shown the invention embodied with one form of back and in one form of shoe only, but it is believed that this is suflicient for the purposes of this application and that the invention will be understood as including any other form of back as well as any form of driver" or car shoe with which it can be satisfactorily used, and [I reserve the right to make all such adaptations and embodiments, and to make any changes in the form, proportion and construction of parts as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back and a fastening lug, and a support separate from the back and the lug and interposed therebetween and forming broad bearing surfaces at the open ends of the lug to engage the brake head and reduce the wear of the lug on the brake head.

2. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back and a fastening lug, and a support separate from the back and the lug and interposed therebetween and engaged with the ends of the lug to support the lug against the force of blows on the top thereof.

3. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back and a fastening lug, and a support separate from the back and lug and interposed therebetween and forming broad bearing surfaces at the open ends of the lug to engage the brake head and reduce the wear thereon andengaging the back and lug to support the lug.

4. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back, a fastening lug for the shoe comprising an arch shape metal strip engaged with said back transversely thereof, and a support interposed between the back and the lug and consisting of a metal strip extending lengthwise of the back and having upstanding ends to bridge the open ends of the lu 5. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back, a fastening lug engaged therewith, and a separate support arranged upon the back within the fastening lug and having lip-standing ends extending transversely of {he back and bridging the open ends of the 6. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back, a fastening lug engaged therewith, and a separate support arranged on the back within the lug and having up-standing ends extending transversely of the back and bridging the open ends of the lug and legs to engage the back.

7. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back, a lug engaged therewith and having shoulders thereon, and a separate support arranged upon the back within the lug and engaging said shoulders.

8. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back, a lug engaged therewith and having shoulders, and a separate support arranged upon the back within the lug and having rip-standing ends bridging the open ends extending transversely of the back and of the lug and engaging said shoulders.

9. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back, a fastening lug engaged therewith and having shoulders, and a support arranged upon the back within the lug and having upstanding ends bridging the open ends of the lug and engaging said shoulders and also having downwardly projecting legs to engage the back.

10. A brake shoe having a reinforcing back and a fastening lug with open ends eX- tending transversely thereof, and a separate support interlockingly engaged with the back and the lug and located within the lug.

JAMES S. THOMPSON.

Witness:

M. A. Klnnrn. 

